Cult Of The Lamb: How To Play Knucklebones

Knucklebones in Cult of the Lamb can feel a lot like poker in that there is some skill involved in winning, but sometimes the game can come down to luck. Though it does have an aspect of luck, the majority of the game comes from players thinking out strategies on how to win against the opponents that they face. As the game progresses players will unlock more and more players that have an increased skill in the game.

This guide will go over how to play Knucklebones as well as different strategies that players can learn to win the game any time luck is not skewed against them.

How To Play

These are the basic rules for playing Kucklebones:

• The player and opponent have a 3×3 grid on their side.
• The opponent will roll a 6-sided die and place it on one of the first columns of the grid.
  • Players gain points for each of the die’s corresponding numbers that they have on their grid.
• The player will do the same
• On the second turn, players can place their roll on the same column as the previous roll or they can place it on a new column.
  • Every turn after this will be similar with both the opponent and player being able to stack dice on columns or choose a clear column to place the die.
• The player WINS when one of the grids is filled and IF their total number is higher than the opponents.
• If a player places 2 of the same die together the number that they add to will be doubled.
  • For example, if a player has 2 dice on a column and each of them has a 2 value players will add those values which makes it 4 then multiply it by 2 which would make it 8.
• If a player places 3 of the same die together the number that they add to will be tripled.
  • For example, if a player has 3 dice on a column and each of them has a 2 value players will add those values which makes it 6 then multiply it by 3 which would make it 18.
• Players can negate a die or dice on an opponent’s side if the player gets the same number and places it on the column that parallels their opponent’s column.
  • For example, if an opponent rolls a 6 and places it then the player rolls a 6 and places it on the column paralleling where the opponent placed their 6 then the 6 on the opponent’s side will disappear while the player will keep their 6.
  • This will erase all of the corresponding numbers from the opponent’s side. So, if the opponent has three 6’s in one column and that player puts a 6 on its parallel the 6’s will all be erased on the opponent’s paralleled column.

Tips

Here are tips to help you beat any of the characters you face in Knucklebones:

• Players need to make sure that they are always playing defensively early on.
  • This means that players are placing dice in their first columns first until they see a way to erase some of the opponent’s big numbers.
  • This will make it so that the player can negate a lot of growth in their opponent’s overall number and try and stack up points on theirs.
• As nice as it might be to get a second or a third 5 or 6 on a column, players should avoid stacking numbers early on.
  • If players stack numbers early on these can be easily erased if the opponent’s paralleled column has spots open.
  • Instead, try and spread out big numbers as not every column needs to be stacked with the same die to win.
• Players need to try and place high numbers on columns that the opponent has already or is getting near fully stacking.
  • High numbers on these columns will lessen an opponent’s chances of beating a player.
• If a player gets great rolls they should try and fill the grid or force the opponent to fill their grid.
  • Remember that the game ends when the lamb or an opponent fully fills the board.
  • If a lot of their opponent’s board is full but their number is low and the lamb has a lot of spaces to place dice they shouldn’t erase the opponent’s dice to force the game to come to an end and for the lamb to win with the higher point value.